


Oxford Rains

by webeta123



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Alex has ADHD, Alternate Universe - College/University, Forced coming out, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Military, Past Character Death, Service Dogs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-25 13:07:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30089553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/webeta123/pseuds/webeta123
Summary: Alex came to Oxford to fulfill a childhood dream of seeing England and to fulfill his International Law Requirement.Henry came to Oxford to forget his past and develop a plan to get out from under the Crown, if there was one to even be had.Neither intended to meet. Neither intended to fall in love.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 18
Kudos: 80





	1. Boots

**Author's Note:**

> I've been teasing this story in the discord for the past few days and it started as a meet-cute but has devolved into... whatever this is turning into. Mind the tags, I will try and put trigger warnings where I can but if I miss any, please let me know! 
> 
> TWs: Forced Coming Out, Nudes Leaked, Car Bombing, Military Service

It was raining the first time he noticed them.

Alex had come to Oxford on an exchange program for his law degree, fulfilling his International Law class requirement and a life-long dream to see England. What could he say, he had read Harry Potter one too many times and wanted to see it for himself. The entire process had been a whirlwind of paperwork, passport checks (his had apparently quietly expired sometime in 2018 so he had to get that fixed as soon as possible), and more money exchanging hands than he thought possible. Studying in a foreign country was fucking expensive. 

But he had gotten to Oxford for his fall semester in a dreary drizzle that did nothing to dampen his mood, not even when he nearly left his bag on the bus he had taken from the airport to campus and had to chase down the driver to allow him back on to get his suitcase. He was really in England, he was really going to be studying at the oldest university in the English speaking world. He had been running on adrenaline and the nap he had taken on the plane ride over so by the time he got to his room, popped over to Primark to buy a set of sheets, a duvet, and a pillow, and made his bed, he could feel the coffee he had drank while waiting for his bus start to wear off. He stood at his window, grinning from ear to ear as he took in the sight of people walking around even in the rain.

But the one who caught his attention was a man who was walking a beagle, both of them wearing yellow rain boots. He didn’t know why that made him so happy, but the sight of a fully grown man and a beagle wearing boots in the rain sparked a certain level of joy in him. Everything else about the man was obscured by his window being fogged up from the rain, but he dreamt about those boots that night.

The second time he noticed them, he was on a run.

It had been approximately a week since he came to campus and classes weren’t set to begin until that Monday. Alex had slept almost sixteen hours (a new record honestly) that first night from jetlag, but now that he was on something resembling a normal sleep schedule, he wanted to get back into the swing of things, including his morning run. It was spitting rain whenever he pulled on his hoodie and some sweatpants, him grimacing at the sight of the clouds. He knew that England was known for their awful weather, but he didn’t think he had seen the sun since he arrived. He thought about getting one of those alarms that simulated the sunrise, if only so he could pretend that was what woke him up. He decided he would Google that when he got back as he popped in his Airpods and started his _Run Until You Puke_ playlist. 

The rain was refreshing against his face as he ran, at least that was what he told himself to ignore the fact that he was freezing. He ran down one of the paths towards the park, figuring he would make a loop there a couple of times before coming back to his dorm and warming up. He kept a steady pace in time with Beyonce’s melodic voice, not thinking about anything in particular other than his classes. He had decided on a mixture of classes within the Law College, classes that didn’t require him to write a thesis like he might have needed to if he were a regular student but ones that would definitely interest him and fulfil Georgetown’s International Law requirement. He was particularly interested in the History of Law course that he had chosen, curious how the law had changed within Britain. 

His attention was taken by the person in front of him, holding a black umbrella in one hand and a leash in the other. Both him and the dog were wearing yellow rain boots and the man had a fantastic ass to look at. It almost surprised him that there was a student out this early, the sky turning from a dark grey to a light grey, but there he was anyway in a pair of black tailored sweatpants and an oversized hoodie that covered his head. “On your left.” Alex called, tearing his eye away from the gentle sway of his ass. The man looked over his shoulder and Alex’s breath caught in his throat. He looked like something out of a magazine, the high cheek bones and the bits of blonde hair that peaked from under the hoodie as if the wind that was biting at Alex’s face was a mild inconvenience at best were tossled gently. He moved out of the way for Alex to run past, his bright blue eyes wider than he expected them to be. “Morning.” Alex said as a goodbye, running on if only so it wasn’t obvious that he was staring. 

There continued to be rain for four more days around the time that Alex ran, so every morning he saw the man and his beagle with their matching rain boots. Every time he had something witty or clever that he could say rolling in his head, prepared for when their paths crossed, it would promptly die away and he would be stuck with, “On your left” and “Morning”. It was driving him absolutely insane, especially since the man usually didn’t say anything in response. He just had his big blue eyes looking at him as though startled and his grip a bit tighter on his umbrella. He looked vaguely familiar to Alex and he wondered if he was pictured in the Oxford promotional material.

The first time that it wasn’t raining when he woke up, Alex could have cried from joy. It was still cloudy, after all he couldn’t have the sun first thing in the morning, but it wasn’t raining. He wouldn’t drip on his way back into his flat and shake until the water was hot enough for him to start to feel human while standing in the shower. He made a list in the shower, trying to pick out the best things to say to dog-walking guy.

  1. Hi
  2. Are you single?
  3. What’s your dog’s name?
  4. Are you gay?



That last one he knew wasn’t as much of an ice breaker as he wanted it to be, but maybe at one point once he knew something more about him other than the fact that he had a beagle who he apparently loved enough to buy yellow rain boots for and trained enough that the dog was comfortable walking in them. He put on a podcast about productivity for his run, if only so that he could pause it easily whenever he hit the spot that they normally crossed paths. 

It almost startled him to see dog-walking guy without his black umbrella and his rain boots, though he guessed that said more about how he classified people in his head rather than anything about the guy personally. He paused his podcast as he slowed, pretending to stretch a little bit ahead of dog-walking guy to give him time to come to him. He gave his best pleasant smile as the guy walked up to him, putting a foot on the bench in front of him and admittedly being a little gratuitous with bending over to stretch there. He knew he got what he wanted when he heard a sharp intake of breath that was only a few feet away. "Morning." Alex said as he straightened, looking to dog-walking guy who looked like he had been hit by a truck from how pale he was save the small blush at his cheeks. 

He also wasn't expecting him to be the disgraced Prince of England, but perhaps that was his own fault for not placing the face sooner.

-

It had been front page news when Henry was forced to come out. His first real love, or at least someone he thought was his first love, had taken the photos Henry had sent him, pieces of himself that he had shyly handed, and sold them to the press for a quick buck. He still remembered sitting in those countless meetings, Gram yelling at him for being so naive. Phillip yelling at him for being so careless. Bea yelling at both of them for making him feel that he had to hide this in the first place. His mum sitting at the end of the table with her face in her hands. There was talk of suing for violation of the NDA, perhaps a well-placed article about the boy in question to call the whole thing under suspicion. Henry insisted that even though Nate had broken his heart that nothing like that happen. That was when the firm decided to change the narrative, take back the image of Henry that wasn't slightly red in the face from pleasure, and by Monday morning he was being dropped at training for the British Army. 

He stayed in the army for four years, rising through the ranks and trying to push himself back into the closet. It had the opposite effect that the firm wanted though especially since almost all of Henry's platoon were queer themselves. In the quiet nights in the tents under the Iraqi sky, Henry learned more about his history than he thought possible. He learned of Achilles and Patroculus, Hamilton and Laurens, Wilde and Douglas. He was given books of queer poetry, words of people just like him. He felt like he belonged for the first time even whenever he sweated from another ten mile run in full fatigues. If there was anything to be said for joining active duty was that he had never been fitter.

There were plenty of speculative articles regarding his service, comparing him to Bathsheba’s husband being put on the front lines to die for the Crown. It was a bit of a stretch, but then he picked up the nickname Bathy and he couldn’t get out from under it. Not that he wanted to, he liked the nickname more than he thought he would, but it was hard to explain to Bea during video calls. Bea and Pez were the only ones who consistently called him after he got out of training, his mother finding every excuse she could find and Phillip declaring that he was dead to him. He didn’t care at that point, he was actually happy even though he knew that he would never be accepted by his family.

He had just been promoted to Lieutenant and they were on a normal patrol, driving down the dirt road between Samarra and Tikrit, all of them joking about the video call that Liz had tried to hide from them. She was throwing crisps at him from her seat in the back, demanding that he stop teasing her about her wife immediately, and he had said something. He couldn’t remember what, he could remember the feeling of his vocal cords vibrating and his lips moving, but all he remembered was what came next. 

_Flash. Bang. Bang. Bang. Crash._

“Hen! Henry! David is panicking, come on mate, come back to me.” Henry didn’t remember coming home. He didn’t remember what he had said to the running guy who he had seen every day for the past week and obsessed over. He didn’t remember laying in bed and he certainly didn’t remember crying even as he felt how wet his face was and the pillow underneath him had familiar track marks. He blinked up to Pez, who was leaning over the side of the bed with concern written over his excessively attractive features. David’s solid weight was on his stomach, his howls a familiar melody. “There you are, what happened?” 

“I…” Henry shook his head, his throat closing up and more tears starting to prick at his eyes.

“Don’t want to talk about it?” Henry shook his head, “Alright, mate. Let’s get you sitting up at least so that David will stop sounding the alarm and we can talk about it when you’re ready.” Henry pushed David off of him mid-howl, the beagle stopping immediately and looking at him intensely. Pez put an arm under Henry’s armpit, hoisting him up so that he was sitting against the headboard. Once Henry was stable, Pez disappeared out of his room into the kitchen. Only thirty seconds later, Pez pressed a cold glass into his hand and Henry took slow sips of water. 

“Sorry.” Henry whispered, taking another sip of his water, “I don’t really know what set me off.” 

“It happens, that’s why we have David to get your meds and let me know when you need me.” Pez said, sitting at the foot of the bed and pulling out his phone, “Do you want to see this funny Tiktok that I found?” Henry nodded and immediately Pez joined him at the headboard, Henry resting his head on Pez’s shoulder as he showed him the woman telling a story about her boyfriend eating fifty mozzarella balls in one sitting and the unfortunate aftermath. David settled on Henry’s legs, a grounding weight that he knew that he needed. After several more Tiktoks that helped Henry return to reality, he started to remember how he got there.

“I… I fucked up with running guy.” Henry whispered. Pez paused the drag queen who was putting on her makeup to Poor Unfortunate Souls and looked at him in alarm.

“Excuse me?”

“I… He practically gave me the opening to talk to him on a silver platter but… I couldn’t even say anything to him. I just don’t want it to be like with-” 

“Ah ah, we don’t say the Name-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named in this house.” Pez interrupted, holding up a manicured finger. “What did you say to him?”

“Uh…” Henry bit his lip, “If I’m remembering right, I said something along the lines of ‘Oh no’ then ran down the sidewalk with David.” He said in a rush, his face turning red, “And now he probably thinks I’m some kind of homophobic Tory that would have voted for Brexit and thinks that mustard is too spicy and that Nando’s is too foreign and-”  
  


“Hen, you’re spiraling.” Pez interrupted again as David crawled up Henry’s legs and pressed his front paws into his chest. Henry took some deep breaths with his eyes closed tightly, letting his heart rate go back to normal. “My god, this guy really has you in a tizzy.” 

“He’s so attractive, Pez.” Henry whined, hugging David to him. David readjusted so that his paws were over Henry’s shoulders and Henry could hold him like a baby. 

“Well, you’ll just have to try again tomorrow.” Pez said brightly, restarting the Tiktok of the drag queen. 

“He’s probably going to avoid that route for the rest of his life.”


	2. Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex does a deep-dive into Henry's past and Henry tries to decide what he wants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I have no notes for this one, I like it, it moves the plot along, so here! Happy Friday!
> 
> TW: Mention of homophobic language but nothing explicit said

@royalfamilynews 1 Jul 2015: HRH Prince Henry not spotted at Eton College graduation following scandal

@royalfamilynews 4 Jul 2015: HRH Prince Henry has joined the British Armed Forces as an infantryman

Is the Crown Homophobic? A History of Queer Members of the Royal Family

One Year Later: How Prince Henry’s Scandal Changed the LGBT+ Narrative

Rising Through the Ranks: Not Your Ordinary Twink 

@royalfamilynews 9 Apr 2018: HRH Prince Henry awarded Second Lieutenant rank

He’s Down and Out: Pictures of Prince Henry’s Summer Skills Training

13 Pictures of Prince Henry That Make Us Want to Join the Military 

Prince Henry’s Iraqi Christmas

@royalfamilynews 3 Mar 2020: HRH Prince Henry awarded Lieutenant rank

“Prince Bathy” How Prince Henry Took Back His Story

A Look Inside Platoon #142: Prince Henry and His Relationship with the Army

@royalfamilynews 4 Apr 2020: HRH Prince Henry injured in car bombing during patrol

Accident or Attack: Royal Experts Weigh In on Car Bombing

Alex’s alarm went off for him to take his medication just as he was reading a Daily Mail article regarding Henry’s car bombing and whether the Crown knew about it beforehand. It was the fifth one he had read on the topic, even though he knew that the Daily Mail had the same amount of credibility as the back of a cereal box. He reached blindly beside him to his bedside table as he read, knocking over the tube of Smarties (which were not the chalky candy that he thought they were oddly enough) and finding his Adderall bottle sitting next to the lamp he had bought at a charity shop. Once his hand wrapped around the plastic bottle, he finally looked up from his laptop to take stock.

His window was dark and he could hear the pattering of rain on the windowsill. He looked to his clock and saw that he had been researching since around one and now it was after six. He knew more about Prince Henry than he ever thought possible, going as far back as baby pictures that were compiled by a loyalist on a LiveJournal in 2008. It felt almost too invasive, everything that he knew now. He knew the name of the boy who Henry had exchanged nude pictures with, or at least it was presumed to be exchanged even though Nathaniel hadn’t felt the need to share his own. Just those of Henry, who turned red when he was turned on and covered his mouth with a hand if he had it. Someone had published the uncensored versions on a web forum that Alex had been hesitant to open in the first place since he didn’t want to get a virus from it. And, you know, looking at another man’s nudes was kind of weird. But he knew that they were out there, having missed the purge that the Crown had demanded when the story broke.

A lot of people had opinions on why Henry went into the Armed Forces so soon after the scandal broke. After reading for five hours on the subject, Alex had the firm opinion that the crown had done it as a mock conversion camp, a type of condemnation of Henry being forced to come out. He didn’t know what he would have done if he were in that kind of spotlight. 

He finished ordering some food from Doordash, deciding that he needed to actually get some reading done for his classes since they started the next day and everything, when his laptop began its cheerful Google Meets notification.

_ Mom has invited you to the meeting _

Alex opened the meeting to find his mother and sister sitting in the chatroom, both of them looking off-camera. “Hey kid!” His mother said cheerfully, smiling broadly. 

“Hey, mom. Hey bug.” Alex said, “I won’t be able to stay on long, I just ordered food.” 

“That’s fine, just wanted to check in with you. How has your second full week in England been? Everything you dreamed it would be?” 

“It’s been really good. Really rainy though.” Alex had to admit, giving a feeble shrug. He didn’t know how to say that he had scared the Crown Prince of England into running away from him as though he were a monster about to devour him. He hadn’t seen Henry since that fateful meeting and he wondered whether he had changed his route just to avoid him. “How’re things at home?”

“The Senate is being the Senate, as per usual.” His mother said, rolling her eyes. Alex gave a small smile. She had talked about the idea back in 2014 of running for president and while Alex had been all in on the idea, giving her spreadsheets and projections of data, June had been less sure. His mom still did her best, but whenever she lost the primaries, she went back to the Senate with a bit of a burn but the same amount of fire in her eye. 2016 came and went with Jeffery Richards as the victor and then 2020 with Elizabeth Warren even though he was still convinced that his mom should have run since she would have swept the floor with them. 

“That sucks.” Alex said in commiseration. “What about you, bug?” He glanced at his phone and saw that his gyro was already on its way. He raised an eyebrow, impressed at how fast the delivery service worked in Oxford. He should have guessed it would be fast, especially with how many gyro shops were in the surrounding area, but he didn’t think it would be in the next ten minutes fast. 

“Just working on the final draft for  _ Come Quickly _ , my editor has been on top of me to get it done but it’s so hard to write sometimes.” June said, rolling her eyes. Alex made a sound of agreement, nodding his head. He knew whenever he got into his low periods it was almost impossible for him to do anything beyond stare blankly at his phone, scrolling mindlessly from Buzzfeed article to Buzzfield article that promised to tell him What Disney Prince Are You Supposed to Marry? 

“Yeah, that makes it really hard.” June gave him a confused look at his lack of actual contribution, raising an eyebrow to him.

“Alex, are you in one of your low periods?” Alex winced. She didn’t have to put quite so strong a point on it.

“Not really, I’ve just had a weird couple of days.” He admitted, shifting his legs again. His mom gave him a scrutinizing look through the computer. His phone pinged with his food being dropped off at the door. 

“Alright, one good thing, one bad thing.” Alex picked up his laptop and carried it through the flat, waving to his flatmate who was frying up some eggs. His eyebrows furrowed when he realized that his flatmate hadn’t put anything on those eggs, not even salt. 

“Ah… good thing, I got to talk to you two.” He said without hesitation, picking up his white takeout bag and going back into the house, “Bad thing… I guess I’m kind of homesick.” He knew that was a lie and he saw that June knew it was a lie, but thankfully she didn’t press him on it and neither did his mom. 

“Would it help if we sent you a care package? Send some comforts of home?” His mom suggested. Alex bit his lip as he went back into his room and deposited his bounty on his desk. He was missing the sunlight mostly, but he didn’t think his mom could bottle that up and pack it into a Fedex box. 

“Yeah, that might help a little.” Alex said, “I need to eat before my Adderall metabolizes, I’ll talk to you guys later.”

“Good night sweetie!” His mom said as she disconnected from the meeting. June took a moment longer, waving to him before she disconnected too. Alex sat in his desk chair and sighed, opening his takeout box and finding his gyro neatly wrapped in tinfoil and the fries covered in the orange salt that told him they would taste divine. At least there were some things that were universal. 

-

Henry was laid out in his bed, working on some poetry that he had written before he had gone into the service. There were a lot of cliches, things that he recognized as trite now but at the time felt like absolute gospel. He changed around some phrasing, wanting to keep the basic message intact while also taking out the insincere. He wanted the raw, but not to the point of bleeding. 

David was dead asleep on his bed at his feet, snoring in a way that at one point Henry might have thought meant that he would leave him alone. He knew better now, after a year of having him, that the moment he moved the wrong way or David sensed that something was wrong that he would be right there on top of him. He loved that about David, how completely sincere he was. He didn’t think there was an inconsiderate thought that could enter that dog’s head. 

“Alright, I’m ordering food, what do you want?” Pez announced as he entered, his phone up to his face. Henry glanced over to him from his laptop and shook his head.

“I’m not hungry right now, I’ll get something later.” He went back to typing, selecting a section and putting a note on the side of how he wanted it to actually read. 

“What I heard was: ‘I would like an orange chicken over rice with a non-caffeinated soda, thank you so much Pez, let me show my appreciation in the form of song and dance.’” Henry looked back over to him with an annoyed look. He knew that Pez had taken it upon himself to help Henry through the aftermath of the scandal and then consequently his deployments. He had done some sort of wizardry with Henry’s military salary that made it so that he didn’t have to look at the royal family if he didn’t want to when it came to funding his Oxford education. And while Henry appreciated the work that went into such an endeavor, he knew that he would never be able to get out from under the Crown. The most he could hope for would be that someday he might be able to do some charity work and avoid public appearances as much as possible. He would never be able to use his Literature degree for anything actually substantial.

No matter how many times Bea swore that no one was mad at him anymore, he would never forget the slurs that dropped from Phillip’s lips during those meetings, the mean approval that came across Gram’s face when Henry yelled at him to stop and Phillip said that he was only telling the truth. “You somehow do an excellent impersonation of me without even trying.” Henry told Pez blankly.

“You’re welcome.” Pez sang as he walked out, tapping his screen to confirm the order. “We need to go to the store tomorrow for groceries after your classes.” He added in the same sing-song voice, rolling his r’s in a very dramatic fashion. Henry shook his head affectionately.

The next day Pez insisted they drive to Sainsburys if only so that they could fully stock up for the things that they needed rather than be limited to the bags that they could carry between them. “If I want a six pack of Irn Brus that’s no one’s business but mine thank you.” Pez joked as he pulled his ridiculously flashy white Mercedes C-class into the car park and got their cart while Henry got David out of the back and fitted him with his service vest. The dark green vest had badges that were similar to Henry’s military badges, though these proclaimed DOG AT WORK and DO NOT PET, I’M BUSY. 

“You hate the taste of Irn Brus.” Henry told him as they walked into the store. Part of Henry’s disgrace came with a distinct lack of security, which was scary for him in some ways but in other ways it made things like going to the grocery store much easier. No one was forced to exit the facilities when he walked in, no security sweeps had to be performed as far as he knew. As far as the people of Oxford were concerned, he was a normal bloke walking around with his friend and his beagle service dog getting food for their flat. 

“I do, they taste like orange medicine.” Pez admitted.

Henry kept an eye on the entrance as they traversed the aisles, Pez grabbing several types of fruit saying that both of them needed to keep their vitamin intake up. Henry grabbed a bag of bagels, thinking that he might like to start making some bagel sandwiches after his walk with David in the morning. Pez started in on him regarding whether bagel sandwiches were even a normal thing to want to eat.

“There is a reason that there is a hole in the bagel, Henry. It is not meant to be filled with anything, let alone a fried egg and a sausage!” Pez insisted as they went into the next aisle. 

“You were just on me about needing to eat different things, why are you on me about bagel sandwiches?”

“Because bagel sandwiches are an abomination created to spite God!” Henry’s laugh erupted from his chest as he grabbed a few cans of tuna fish to make other sandwiches with. He tried to remember if they still had bread at home and as they went into the next aisle, he realized that it wouldn’t hurt to get another loaf. He pushed the cart forward for Pez to take. 

“I forgot my bread, keep going, I’ll catch up.” Pez gave a mock salute to him as he continued down the cereal aisle. Henry went back to the bread section, humming as he looked over the selection. 

“Honey wheat, white, whole wheat,” Henry muttered, squinting his eyes at the display as though it would let him know which one would go best with his tuna fish. “Which one goes with fish, David?” David sat at his heel, looking extremely bored with the whole affair.

“I’m just saying Edward, we need some spices in our flat if this is going to work. Y’all spent too long colonizing for us to not use them.” Henry could hear his heart stop beating and he went light-headed the moment he recognized that voice. 

“I don’t believe we need every spice available though, Alex. I think if we stick to the basics, you can pick out which ones you need as you need them.”  _ Alex. Alex.  _ Henry imagined the little part of his heart that hadn’t been destroyed by Nate clutching that name in a very Austenien way. Henry didn’t realize his feet were moving towards that voice until he was at the end of the condiment aisle where Pez was waiting for him. 

“These are the ones I need. Frankly, I’m impressed that these are even here.” Henry had gotten a very good look at Alex on his daily encounter with him, but seeing him under fluorescent lighting rather than in the early dawn was striking. Or maybe it was the fact that Henry had been getting up even earlier to avoid seeing him, the bench where Alex normally passed a landmark of missed opportunities. His curls looked more separated, his eyes had a glint to them that Henry had never seen before, and he was wearing normal clothes, a white button-down and a pair of denims that hugged his thighs like an old friend. He jerked when David headbutted his shin and he heard Pez snapping his fingers at him.

“Earth to Henry, come in Henry.” 

“What?” Henry snapped in what his platoon members had once called his ‘Lieutenant voice’, not wanting to admit that he hadn’t zoned out because of his PTSD but because he was checking out Alex. He saw Alex’s head jerk up in confusion, breaking him out of his argument with Edward who was loosely holding his own cart that did have a large variety of spices in it. It looked like Alex had grabbed one of each spice in the display. He saw the look of recognition on his face the same time that Pez responded.

“You went somewhere else there for a second, mate.” Pez said gently, taking him by the arm and guiding him to the other aisle, finally breaking Henry’s eye contact with Alex. “Do we need to go?” He asked.

“No!” Henry could feel his voice rising and he forced it to lower so that David didn’t start alerting. “I just... “ He took a few deep breaths and kneeling down to pet David on the head. “That guy was my running guy.” He said lowly, giving Pez a significant look. Pez’s mouth fell open in shock and delight. 

“Wait, the one in the button-down or the one in the pullover? Because you can do better than the guy in the pullover.” Admittedly, the man that Alex had called Edward was extremely generic. Brown hair and a pale complexion that screamed of being sheltered. That wasn’t to say that Henry had anything to say about being sheltered, but at least he had tried by being in Iraq for four years.

“Button-down.” Henry confirmed, rising back up and trying to figure out what aisle they were in. It looked like the paper goods aisle with its array of paper plates, cups, and plastic silverware. Pez’s grin only grew.

“I knew you had good taste! Not bad, not bad at all.” He drawled, going into the next aisle once they realized that there was nothing they needed in this aisle. They entered the frozen food section the same time as Alex and Edward entered from the other side, Henry’s mind drawing a convenient blank. He was only focused on Alex, even as Edward asked if they could take a picture for his Twitter.

“It’s a shame what happened, it really is. But hey, you did get some good experience out of it.” Edward couldn’t seem to stop talking, even as Henry’s smile became tight and barely controlled. He didn’t know if he would call his military experience a good experience, though he would never say it was bad since he got to meet his platoon. He didn’t think there was a word in any language that would describe exactly how he felt about the entire situation. “Alex, did you want a picture too?” 

“Uh… sure.” He gave Henry a questioning look, obviously wondering if he was going to run off again. Henry didn’t think he could run even if he wanted to. So between the frozen pizzas and the ice cream, Henry put his arm over Alex’s shoulders while Alex wrapped his around his waist, Henry’s other hand loosely holding David’s leash. He was warm against Henry’s side, a grounding presence that made Henry’s head swim. 

“Awesome, is it okay if I at you on Twitter?” Edward asked once he showed him the picture. Henry was genuinely smiling in the one with Alex but he could see the tight-lipped smile he had used with Edward, “You still use @HRHPrinceHenry right?” 

“Yeah, that’s me.” Henry said, nodding. He wanted to say something more, something that would encourage a conversation between just him and Alex, but before he knew it, Alex had taken the cart and was walking away and Pez was walking the other direction with theirs. 


	3. Writing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Henry share DMs on Twitter then switch to talking over the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted this to look like an actual DM conversation but every time I tried to create it the image was wrong and the thing I was using didn't let the boys curse so instead y'all are going to have to use your *~*Imagination~*~ for that part. Also the poem that Henry is reading is "We Were Never Meant to Break Like This" from Billy-Rae Belcourt which I will include in this note since I really like it and it has major Alex vibes to it honestly:
> 
> 1\. follow me out of the backdoor of the world.
> 
> 2\. how do you tell someone that they are helping you stay tuned into life?
> 
> 3\. what does it mean that her first breath was also her last?
> 
> 4\. i am so sad that i burrow into the absence of every boy who has held me.
> 
> 5\. i kiss him knowing that when i wake up i will be in a body differently.
> 
> 6\. the future is already over, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have anywhere else to go.

@thebestedward2497: Look who I saw in fucking Sainsbury’s! Pics for proof @HRHPrinceHenry @aclaremont_diaz

@aclaremont_diaz: Not everyday you meet a Prince in the grocery store #studyabroad #oxforduni @HRHPrinceHenry

@henry4king: Well now I have to change my entire grocery routine. #jealous 

@stopyellingimright: Does anyone else notice the difference in pictures here? #spotthedifference 

@westangayhenry: You see what this is? GROWTH [chef’s kiss emoji]

[@HRHPrinceHenry has sent a Friend Request]

@aclaremont_diaz: Wait, this is your actual account? Am I going to be getting an NDA from some shady part of the British government? 7:05 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: 1) Yes, this is my actual account. 7:10 PM

2) Not that I’m aware. The shady part of the British government probably won’t bother at this point. 7:11 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: I’m going to be honest I have no idea how to respond to that 7:14 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Sorry, that was a bit more blunt than I normally am 7:15 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: Its fine just surprised me 7:15 PM

But also wow, you don’t use this account at all, do you 7:16 PM

The last Tweet you did was “Happy Guy Fawkes day” 7:16 PM

LAST YEAR 7:17 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: What can I say, I don’t do the Tweets often 7:18 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: Oh, now he’s got jokes 7:20 PM

Shouldn’t you have someone doing Tweets for you? Being a man of the people and that kind of thing? 7:21 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Nope, I think the firm would prefer people forget the fact that I’m a royal 7:22 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: Right, because you coming out is the problem, not the decades of colonization and racism 7:24 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Clearly 7:24 PM   
Though I don’t know if the US has any room to talk 7:25 PM   
How did you go from Obama to Richards? 7:25 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: See: Racism 7:27 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Ah 7:28 PM   
Unfortunately ours is more sinister as we aren’t typically as obvious about it 7:30 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: Lundy Island would like a word 7:35 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Fine, we aren’t as obvious about it in the 21st century 7:38 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: Your weird obsession with Winston Churchill would like a word 7:38 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: JEFFERY. RICHARDS. WON. 7:39 pm

My platoon members lost their minds whenever that news broke 7:41 pm

  
@aclaremont_diaz: Everyone with half a conscious lost their minds when that broke 7:44 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: The American political system just seems excessively stressful. 7:46 PM

And yes, I’m aware of how that sounds coming from me 7:46 PM

I got a lot of Tweets shortly after that asking for us to take you back 7:47 pm

@aclaremont_diaz: Soon we’ll see? 7:50 PM   
We’ll remember that we belong to you? 7:51 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Are you quoting fucking Hamilton in 2021? 7:59 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: And what if I am 8:01 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: You’ll never be satisfied 8:03 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: You know what? 8:08 PM

I deserved that 8:08 PM

Considering I was named after Hamilton I guess I should have known I would relate to a musical about him 8:10 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Then who does that make me? 8:11 pm

@aclaremont_diaz: Laurens 8:12 PM

Or maybe Eliza, you do have a surprising amount of sass in you 8:14 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: I’ll take Laurens, even if I die and it’s not even mentioned on the 3 hour long soundtrack 8:15 pm

@aclaremont_diaz: Yeah, the man who my namesake wrote, “ I wish, my Dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love you.” was only worth a footnote 8:17 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Right, and whose letters his descendents got rid of for… reasons 8:20 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: HIS SON LITERALLY CUT OUT PARTS OF THE LETTERS BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT THEM PUBLISHED IN THEIR ENTIRETY 8:21 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: I am well aware and I have screamed about that several times since I learned about it 8:22 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: Oh then you’ll love this 8:23 PM   
https://archiveofourown.org/works/1832944829/chapters/621908270 8:25 PM   
  


@HRHPrinceHenry: Did you seriously just send me a 50k Laurens/Hamilton fanfiction? 8:26 pm

WHY WOULD YOU SEND ME AN INCOMPLETE FANFICTION YOU ASSWIPE 10:15 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: Wow you read fast 10:17 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: I’m getting a Lit degree, it’s practically a superpower 10:19 PM

Now back to the task at hand 10:19 PM

HOW DARE YOU SEND ME AN INCOMPLETE FANFICTION 10:20 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: I had to suffer and now so will you 10:21 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: I could have you sent to the Tower of London for that 10:22 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: Promise? 10:22 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: Wait, what’s your phone number? I need to be able to scream at you about this properly 10:23 PM

@aclaremont_diaz: I have a WhatsApp? 10:25 PM

@HRHPrinceHenry: That’ll do 10:27 PM

-

Henry had ignored the phone call from Philip regarding the pictures, knowing that he would have nothing nice to say about it and not feeling up for the fight. He had been riding the high of Alex’s touch for the past hour, alternating between feeling elated and terrified of the fact that he already wanted to know more about him. He had been in the midst of a deep-dive into his Twitter, going as far back as 2011 with a picture of Alex in what Henry could only imagine to be an emo phase based on the eyeliner. Pez had gone to a meeting in London so he would be gone for the evening, which made it easy for Henry to lay out on his bed and shake his phone furiously at the DM history between him and Alex while he waited for Alex to accept his Whatsapp request.

He wasn’t actually upset, he was more frustrated at the implications. The fanfiction that Alex had so blasely sent him was well-written, filling in the gaps of the musical and the biography so fluidly that he wasn’t convinced that the writer was not in fact a time-traveler or at least a reincarnation of John Laurens. He could taste the sugar-sweet air of South Carolina when Laurens returned home briefly before being called to Pennsylvania. He could hear the crackle of the fire in the cabin that Laurens and Hamilton shared and the heat of Hamilton’s body on Laurens as they slept. He could feel the desperation in Hamilton’s letter, complete and unedited by prying descendents, that proclaimed his love and desire of another life in which he did not have to get married to Elizabeth Schyler, no matter how much he held her affection. But then on the last chapter, the last letter from Laurens writes proclaiming “You know the unalterable sentiments of your affectionate Laurens”, and Henry knew his history well enough to know that Laurens’s death would have been the last chapter. His last DM to Alex showed exactly how much that frustrated him. He wanted to know how this writer handled his death, the afterlife, that last letter that Hamilton sends when informed of Laurens’s death. 

And throughout all of it, he had to consider the source of this pain that he now felt. His running guy, the one who had caught his attention so easily without even trying. Alex, the son of a Senator who he didn’t recognize but now he needed to know about to know Alex better. He wanted to know his wants, his needs, his dreams, his nightmares. He wanted so much that it felt like he would explode if he didn’t hear his voice again. He appeared on Henry’s Whatsapp list right next to Hetal and without thinking he pressed the call button.

The long beeps went on for one, two, three times until it finally connected. “Hello?”

“Alright, why in the world would you do that to me?” Henry demanded to know. “I need to know how he reacted to Hamilton reacting to his death, Alex. Why would you send me a fanfiction that isn’t complete?” He could hear Alex laughing at him now and in any other circumstance he would be embarrassed but at that moment he was frustrated. He went to his bookshelf and looked through his books, trying to decide what poetry might calm him down. 

“How do you know that Laurens would be reacting to Hamilton reacting to his own death?” Alex asked as Henry selected  _ This Wound is a World _ and went back to his bed where David was curled up at the footboard. 

“I mean, it is written from Laurens’s point of view, I can’t see how the story would end otherwise.” 

“Maybe it’ll switch to Hamilton’s point of view. Or, it would have if the author had updated it anytime since 2019.” Henry shook his head as he opened the book to a random place and read  _ We Were Never Meant to Break Like This _ . His heart burned for the simplicity of the poem, how it could reach into his chest and tear out his beating heart. He didn’t realize he had said that out loud until Alex asked, “What poem is that?” 

“Oh, sorry, it’s from one of my favorite contemporary poets Billy-Ray Belcourt. Well, he isn’t actually my favorite poet, he was the favorite of one of my platoon members who funny enough was also named Billy. He swore that wasn’t why he liked his stuff, but I feel like that was at least a factor.” He could hear typing on the other side of the phone. 

“What poem are you talking about? It looks like he has a book of them.” Alex said. 

“ _ We Were Never Meant to Break Like This. _ ” Henry told him, “If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve already decided on my thesis topic I probably would have done more poetry instead.” 

“What are you doing your thesis on?” Alex asked as more typing came from his side of the phone. 

“I’m doing a literary analysis of the story of Achilles and Patroculus throughout literary history, starting with the original Grecian myth and then going as recent as possible.” Henry told him. The last time he had talked to Phillip about it, in one of their few moments of civility, he had seen his eyes narrow just a bit at the fact that he had chosen that story in particular. Henry refused to apologize for it, knowing that he would do far better on his thesis if he was actually interested in the topic. 

“Oh wow.” Alex said, though Henry wasn’t sure if he was saying that in reference to what he had said or if it was in reference to whatever he had looked up. “What are you using for the more recent things?”

“This might be self-serving, but I get to read Song of Achilles for my thesis and I’m using a bit of fanfiction.” Henry admitted as he sat back against his headboard, flipping to another poem and promptly letting it rip his ribcage out. 

“That sounds awesome. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do for my thesis, I’ll have to start prepping for it next year when I get back to Georgetown. I’ve been debating between doing an analysis of prevention of homelessness or anti-corruption laws. On the one hand I think that the issue of homelessness has so many factors that have to go into it, but on the other hand the anti-corruption laws almost play into that? I don’t know, there are so many laws that are in place that have to do with homelessness that are meant to take down the barriers but they actually make it so much harder for someone who isn’t neurotypical to actually benefit from those laws.” 

And so Alex continued to talk about his thesis idea while Henry read poetry, the words that flitted around in his mind mixing in tandem with Alex’s in a beautiful melody. He learned about the passion that Alex held for anti-corruption laws, the idea that once those laws were torn down it would make it easier for those who were disenfranchised in the US to vote and have their voices be heard. “I mean fuck Reagan since he was the one who started a lot of this shit, but I don’t know it’s hard for me to pick just one topic.”

“But if you had to choose today, which one would you choose?” Henry asked as he put down his poetry and picked up his laptop, idly opening his own Google document.

“That’s like asking me to pick between a favorite child! Both of these topics are so fascinating to me and have so much potential to make a great thesis that I can’t just pick one.” He heard a thudding sound that could only mean that Alex had laid down properly in bed. He felt his heart speed up at the idea and his fingers moved unconsciously across his keyboard as Alex went over the merits and drawbacks of each topic.

_ Your curls are a halo about your head _

_ The darkness of your skin a contrast _

_ Against sheets that I ache to grab _

_ The pillow against which you rest _

_ I want nothing more than to smother _

_ Myself  _

“Then why don’t you just combine them?” Henry asked as he looked at the phrasing that he had chosen for that little snippet. It felt too soon to have that much weight in a fantasy, but what was he meant to do whenever he had Alex’s voice in his ear and his mind a-whirl with poetry? He wanted so much for the imagery to become a memory, a sight that he would cling to desperately. He was in far too deep for his own good and he knew he needed to pull away. He also realized that Alex hadn’t said anything to his question, “Alex?”

“You’re a genius.” Alex whispered into the phone, “I can do my thesis on how anti-corruption laws led to the current issues surrounding homelessness and from there, examine the legality of the current laws in place and what kind of reform would be needed in order to mitigate both!” Henry chuckled, sure that he had put Alex onto some kind of epiphany. “No seriously! I’ve been debating between those topics since I knew they were topics that I could do! I’ve been driving my advisor nuts since she would like to see me at least start some of the prep work before I got back but I wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to take! That would work perfectly! Oh, and I could even incorporate how other countries like the UK handle those sorts of things. It’s perfect, perfect, perfect I say! Genius!” Alex bellowed, Henry laughing if only for the Disney reference.

He heard some shuffling on the other side of the phone and Alex asking in a muffled voice, “Huh? Wait, really? Oh, shit, sorry dude. Yeah, I’ll wrap it up in here. Good night.” He heard some more shuffling and then Alex’s voice clearer in his ear, “Hey sorry, Edward just told me I need to wrap it up, I apparently woke him up with us talking.” Henry’s stomach dropped out. He didn’t want to stop talking to him yet. “When’s your first class?”

“I have a ten AM but I usually get up at five thirty every morning to walk David.” David’s ears perked up at the sound of his name. 

“Damn, I get up that early but that’s because I have a nine AM. Well, I mean, you know that since… anyway, would you want to go on a run with me then get breakfast?” Henry’s ears rang and he was surprised that he was able to speak at all.

“Yeah, that’d be fine.” He should have said no, he should have been pulling away. But as he heard Alex’s exuberant, “Awesome! I’ll see you in the morning then!” he slid down the bed and covered his face in his hands when the call disconnected, blinking a 1:02:04 at him to show how long they had been talking.

He wasn’t sure if he made a mistake or if he had done the best thing he had ever done in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also that ao3 link goes nowhere, let alone a Hamilton/Laurens fanfiction. I made sure to put too many numbers. Thanks!


	4. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miscommunication abounds as Alex and Henry's meeting goes well but Alex says that Henry is just a friend. A British friend. But a friend.

Alex couldn’t believe that had just happened. He had spent the hour after Edward had barged into his room and demanded that Alex hang up with Henry for the night doing more deep dives into Henry’s social media. As he had joked, Henry had very little in the way of social media. He had his Twitter that was disappointingly dull, his Tiktok he had done a few videos but mostly he just seemed to like filming David while he walked, and his Facebook hadn’t been used since before the scandal. What he did find were Henry’s friends.

  


He found a person named Pez who he recognized from Sainsbury. Pez was much more likely to post on Tiktok, using the most up to date sounds for his videos. He admittedly went as far back as possible into Pez’s Tiktok, scouring the videos for a glimpse of Henry. Most of the time Pez’s videos were in his own room or the kitchen of an apartment, all gleaming silver appliances and as a contrast, a white tea kettle sitting on the stove with a rainbow going around the middle. Alex did think that the Tiktoks were hilarious, though he did try to keep it down so that he didn’t wake up Edward again, but his heart jumped when Henry would be in the background. Normally he would be in the living room typing on his laptop as Pez ran through or in the kitchen watching the kettle. There were a few times he would film Henry while he was doing push-ups in the living room, a grey t-shirt clinging to his back from sweat and his ankle primly stacked on top of the other. Usually the sound would be a siren sound, which felt very similar to how Alex felt as he watched Henry’s biceps and shoulders move.

  


He found a woman named Hetal, an Indian woman who didn’t seem to spend a great deal of time on Tiktok but who did enjoy a lively Twitter debate. Alex alternated between Google Translate and her Twitter, several times having to bite his lip to not gasp when he understood an insult she had used in Farsi. She appeared to have a non-binary partner named Farren, who had on his profile (once Alex translated it) “I hoard all of the pronouns like a dragon”. Farren didn’t appear to spend a great deal of time on Twitter, but they did have several videos on Youtube where he went into depth about her makeup routine and Hetal appeared several times to kiss their cheek. He eventually fell asleep to Farren’s accented English explaining why he still used their fingers to apply foundation.

  


He didn’t understand initially why the room was so dark when his alarm went off, but in a moment he remembered. He could hear the steady patter of rain on his windowsill as he got up, his body protesting heavily from lack of sleep. He rubbed at his eyes as he took his Adderall to the kitchen to find a glass of water or a cup of coffee. He pressed his forehead against the cabinet just to rest his eyes while the coffee maker sputtered and warmed up the water but before he knew it he was waking up and looking at the oven clock that proclaimed  _ 5:43 AM _ . He bit his hand to avoid screaming, racing into his room and shoving his tennis shoes on his feet, leaving his Adderall, coffee, and a slew of curses behind. He threw the hood of his sweatshirt over his head as he locked the door behind him, running as fast as his legs would carry him. He dropped his phone two times and the second time he thought about leaving it behind so he could catch up with Henry. They had agreed to meet at the bench that he normally passed Henry at and he was most definitely late. 

  


He thought about calling Henry, but he had left his Airpods and wasn’t sure about the reception for Whatsapp especially whenever he was running like his ass was on fire. His chest burned as he turned the corner for the path that the bench was at. His socks were squelching with every step and he wasn’t convinced that he would be able to get his shoes off with how tightly they were clinging to his feet. He saw Henry with his black umbrella and his yellow rainboots and his heart reminded him he had been running at full speed for the past ten minutes. Henry was looking at the ground and as Alex got closer, he saw the uncertainty on his face that only came when you were convinced you were being stood up. He was looking at his phone then down to David then back to his phone. “Henry!” He yelled, finding that last bit of breath that he wasn’t using to not collapse on the concrete. 

  


Henry’s head snapped up and a small smile came to his face as Alex slowed down to stand next to him under the umbrella. Alex gasped for breath, finding a good reason for running in the rain since the water cooled his body temperature greatly. He grabbed at his knees, coughing up some phlegm and wincing. That was definitely not how he wanted this morning to go, but when he looked up to Henry, his smile was worth it. It was a little shy, a little concerned, but brighter than the sun. Alex gave a sheepish grin, “Morning.” 

  


“I was just about to give up.” Henry admitted. “Are you alright?” Alex coughed up another bit of phlegm before he straightened.

  


“Never better.” His chest really hurt and he knew that he was definitely going to get a charley horse later, but he would do an ice bath and bitch about it to June over Google Meets and it would be fine. He still hadn’t told June what his issue had been the last time they had talked and he figured he would tell her after today. He took a couple more deep breaths before he looked up in confusion as Henry lowered his umbrella. It was still dark outside, the beginnings of twilight turning the horizon into an array of navy and blue, with just a hint of yellow at the bottom, but the rain had stopped. “Are you some kind of sun god?” 

  


“If I were, why would I live in England of all places?” 

  


“You’re a man who likes a challenge?” Alex suggested, twisting at the hips a couple of times. “Well, I just sprinted harder than I’ve ever sprinted in my life. Can we just go get breakfast?” Henry gave a shy grin. 

  


“Yeah alright.” They walked along the path towards the Covered Market, Alex giving a brief rundown of why he was so late.

  


“Of course I didn’t mean to fall asleep right above the coffee pot, but that’s my own fault for staying up so late and then expecting to be able to get up at five, which is a whole thirty minutes earlier than I normally get up.” 

  


“Those thirty minutes are apparently very crucial.” Alex looked at him, trying to figure out if he was joking or not before he narrowed his eyes.

  


“Those thirty minutes  _ are _ very important, thank you.” They reached the Covered Market and wandered through the empty halls that appeared to only have some very intense walkers this early in the morning. Alex’s stomach grumbled at the lack of coffee and Adderall. It would probably be fine, he needed to test his behavior anyway without the stimulant. “Where are we going?”

  


“Here.” Tucked in between two shops was a bakery that touted itself as Nash’s Bakery, Est. 1930. Henry walked inside with David in tow, an older man at the register and giving them a broad smile. The shop smelled of freshly baked bread and spun sugar, the glass display beside the register filled with cakes, pies, and breads that made Alex’s mouth water. 

  


“Good morning, Your Highness. Good morning, David, yes, I know.” David sat at Henry’s side and wiggled his butt excitedly. “Your usual then?”

  


“If you don’t mind, I know it’s been a bit since I’ve been here.” 

  


“Ah, not to worry, I know you’re a busy student. And what would you like, sir?” Alex didn’t realize that the man was talking to him but he whipped his head up to look. 

  


“Oh uh…” He looked to the menu, “Could I just get a couple of the double chocolate muffins?” The man nodded and pulled out a paper bag to put the muffins in. He then went to the back and returned with two more baggies. 

  


Henry paid with a tap of his watch to the keypad and it dinged cheerfully when the purchase went through. He signed the pad with his finger, an elegant swish that made Alex wonder what else he could do with those fingers, before he nodded to the man and they exited out into the marketplace. 

  


They sat on the bench outside of the shop for what felt like mere minutes but ended up being a couple of hours, just talking. They exchanged Tiktoks that they had found funny, Henry’s face turning a sweet shade of red when he saw the one that Pez had done of him exercising. Alex grinned from ear to ear when Henry showed him one where he and Pez were trying on formalwear and the first half was Henry trying on different blazers with Pez saying something encouraging in the background and the second half was Pez trying on beautiful dresses with blazers and Henry saying something that was clearly encouraging. Alex had watched that video more times than Henry probably realized, but he didn’t want to say anything. 

  


It turned out that Henry’s normal order was a couple of white fruit scones, the sugar already melted against the pastry, with a doggie treat for David, who sat right at Henry’s heel waiting with his eyes wide open and drool coming from the side of his mouth. Henry had him go through a basic training routine, sitting, then laying down, then jumping up into Henry’s lap whenever he tapped his chest. 

  


“Good boy. Yes.” Henry said softly, giving David the biscuit and petting his head. The sound of those words gently wrapped in Henry’s accent did some very funny things to Alex’s heart and stomach. He went back to eating his muffin, trying to ignore the happy feeling that filled him at the sight of Henry petting his dog. While he knew that Henry liked men, that didn’t mean that he liked  _ him _ . He wasn’t sure why he was so hesitant, he had gone through his sexuality crisis during his time in Georgetown so he knew he liked men and women, but maybe it was that he wanted to take things easier. For the first time in his life, Alex didn’t want to rush through something. He wanted to savour every moment, every second of watching Henry suck sugar off his own thumb. He had finished his own muffins and was waiting for Henry to finish his scone so that he could show him a Twitter thread he thought he’d like. His phone buzzed incessantly almost the moment Henry was ready to see the thread and he looked to his phone to find his “GET YOUR ASS TO CLASS” alarm going off. David jumped off Henry’s lap the moment that Henry got up, mirroring Alex. 

  


“Shit, I have to go to class, this was really awesome, I’ll text you later.” Alex said in a rush, deciding he would just have to run if he wanted to make it to his nine AM on time. He really hadn’t planned on becoming a sprinter today, but apparently the universe had other plans. 

-

  


Henry didn’t know how he was supposed to endure this. After that first breakfast, he and Alex fell into an easy routine. Henry would wait at the bench for him and then they would complete his run back to his and Pez’s flat. They would send each other texts and memes during their classes, more than once Henry had to hide his face behind his laptop so that it wasn’t obvious to his professor that he was not paying attention to the lecture regarding Thomas Hardy’s word choice in the readings. Then in the evenings they would meet in the library to do work.

  


Those evenings were when they were the most quiet. Henry learned that Alex had glasses, and in the gentle lighting of the library as the windows changed from orange to navy then the black of night, he looked like the quintessential student. He had a singular focus that Henry wanted on himself, though he would never say that out loud. 

  


During Henry’s deep-dive into Alex’s social media he had found a photo from a Pride parade in Austin, Texas. Alex was sitting on someone’s shoulders, his cheek bearing a rainbow and a bisexual flag tied over his shoulders like a cape. He was mid-scream in the photo, holding his arms up to show off the black crop-top he was wearing and the tantalizing peeks of his sides around the man’s head. Henry had poured over that photo, writing hundreds of stanzas of poetry with that photo on one side of his laptop and his Word document on the other side. Every time he had to resist the urge to delete them, knowing that he needed to get himself under control. Just because he had that photo on a public platform didn’t mean that he liked him that way.

  


So he contented himself with watching Alex pour over legal briefings that he didn’t understand and working on his essays for his classes. He thought that he would enjoy the poetry class that he had signed up for, but unfortunately his classmates were almost excessively posh and only wanted to talk about  _ real _ artists, not the poets that Henry found for his thesis in the depths of Tumblr. He understood the compulsion to shove aside those who were not officially published, but these people had poured their hearts into these poems and it was clear as day on the screen.

  


They didn’t go back to Nash’s since that first meeting and Henry didn’t know how to classify that morning. He had felt the pain of being stood up even though they had never called it a date and the breath of relief when Alex arrived with his hair wet against his head had definitely escaped his lips. He knew that Alex just saw him as a friend, the last time he had taken a call from his sister in America and he had introduced Henry as “my first British friend outside of Edward”, and even if it hurt he would have to survive.

  


He was sitting on his bed that evening, having to leave Alex in the library since he had a Zoom call with his platoon and he wanted to catch up with them. He entered the Zoom waiting room precisely at seven and was immediately admitted once he tested the headset that Bea had given him for Christmas. He smiled when he saw his platoon in their separate boxes. Hetal and Farren were sharing a box, Farren wearing a gorgeous shade of green on their eyelids that Henry knew he would need to get the name of for Pez. Then there was Liz and Charlotte, Landon with a beach background, John with an outer space background, and Marquis with a filter on his face that made him look like he had digital sunglasses. 

  


“Bathy!” Marquis declared, “We were waiting for you.”

  


“No you weren’t.” Henry said with a laugh, putting his laptop on the desk so that he could lean back against the wall. He had situated his bed in a corner, the side of the bed running along the wall and his headboard against the other wall. “You told me seven my time.”

  


“Ah.” Hetal said as she waved her hand at him, a clear dismissal of his words. “Does it matter? How is life in Oxford?” Henry was the youngest of their merry band, the rest of them in their late twenties and early thirties rather than twenty-four like him. He had asked John and Liz once why they didn’t try and rise through the ranks, but they had told him that they didn’t want to become a commissioned officer unless they had to. They were happy to take the annual pay raises without the added stress of commanding a platoon or unit. Henry couldn’t say he blamed them. But as a result of his age, they definitely saw him as their mascot or perhaps a pet to be taken care of.

  


“It’s been very nice, my classes have been extremely interesting. We’re going over Thomas Hardy right now, there really is much more nuance in his writing than one would think.” Henry told them. He saw John’s eyes immediately glaze over in boredom and Landon was typing something off-screen. “Wow, your attention spans are awful.” He said bluntly, raising an eyebrow to them. Landon at least had the decency to look sheepish.

  


“I was trying to find that online game we used last time, I wasn’t trying to be an arse.” Landon said defensively. 

  


“I really don’t give a damn about Thomas Hardy, mate, sorry.” John said, though he was clearly not sorry. Henry rolled his eyes. John was one of the oldest people in the platoon and as a result had lost his Give-A-Fuck Meter somewhere around his thirtieth birthday, in his words. “So we are playing something?”

  


“Well, I wanted to ask how the rest of you were. Hetal, how is life in Peterborough?” Hetal and Farren had moved to Peterborough in order for Hetal to focus on her special skills training and hopefully be eligible to become an officer by the end of the year. 

  


“How it always is, a little cold, a little rainy, very English.” Farren said with a wave of his manicured hand. Hetal laughed and kissed his cheek. 

  


“He’s very right, we love it but I have to admit I miss seeing you lot all the time.” Hetal told them with a fond smile, “We have to plan a time for all of us to get together and see each other properly without these silly screens in the way.” Henry immediately pulled up his calendar as he heard the rest of them do the same, the next fifteen minutes spent proposing ideas for when they could meet. They started further out in the year, perhaps Christmas or New Years, but then they started inching closer in dates as it became obvious that they weren’t going to find something around those holidays.

  


“What about October 30th?” Henry looked to his calendar. It was the day before Halloween, he had a paper due the day before but after that his next major project wasn’t until December. He heard murmurs of similar situations, nothing too pressing surrounding that weekend other than the fact that it was Halloween. His heart accelerated as he looked to his friends, who were all sharing grins.

  


“Halloween party?” He asked.

  


“Halloween party!” Marquis declared to everyone’s loud cheers. Liz’s was so loud that she had to readjust her computer since the mic made her voice become distorted for a few seconds. All of them winced in recognition of her not intending that to happen. Once her computer came back, she gave a sheepish smile.

  


“Halloween party.” She said softer, “Oh, that reminds me, Henry, me and Charlotte were thinking about coming up to Oxford to do a day trip, would it be alright if we swung by to say hi to you and Pez? We can come up with the bikes.” She said in a sing-song voice. Henry’s heart sped up with excitement. While he hadn’t ridden a normal bicycle in many years, probably not since he was a child, he had gotten very comfortable on motorbikes while overseas and had it not been for how expensive they were in the UK, he would have bought one already but he hadn’t found one that he liked. Liz grinned at the screen when she saw Henry’s wide eyes. “I’m taking that as a yes?”

  


“Absolutely bring the bikes, I haven’t ridden in so long I feel like I should have lost my mind by now.” Henry told her. Hetal’s eyes narrowed.

  


“Is there something else that has kept you from losing your mind, Henry?” His face heated up just slightly and he swallowed. 

  


“I suppose between classes and everything I’ve just been able to focus on things that make me happy.” He said, giving an easy smile. He wasn’t sure why he was avoiding the topic of Alex, perhaps because he wanted to hold onto the newness of their friendship a little while longer before he shared it with the world. His friendship with Alex was something that was just for him, something that hadn’t been touched by the army or the fact that he was a royal. Alex hadn’t even mentioned anything regarding the crown since their first DMs when he brought up the UK’s unfortunate past and Henry appreciated that a lot. It felt like he was just a normal student with a normal friend who wanted to get to know him better and sometimes he wrote romantic poetry about. Nothing weird about that in the slightest. Hetal examined him a bit more through the screen before she hummed lowly. 

  


“What are you hiding, Bathy?” She asked. Henry bit his lip and chuckled.

  


“Nothing you can prove.” He teased, “Landon, you find the website?” 

  


“Yeah, I was waiting for a good time. Here.” All of their computers pinged when Landon put the link into the chat box and they went onto the gaming website. They spent the next twenty minutes deciding on the merits of each game available until they landed on Among Us. Henry wasn’t sure how he felt about a bunch of military people playing a game about someone in their group slowly killing all of them, but he wasn’t about to complain.

  


He did complain when John killed him in cold blood on screen. “What the fuck, John?” He asked the private chat as he watched the rest of his teammates discover his body. 

  


“You were taking too long on tasks, how could I not kill you?” John asked, his light baritone rich in laughter. Henry couldn’t help laughing as he shook his head.

  


“Damn it, I really wanted to make it through the first kill.” 

  


“Learn the tasks faster then.” Henry huffed as he switched back over to the main chat to see what was going on. Hetal and Landon were fighting over who they thought was the Imposter. Hetal made a very compelling argument for Liz but Henry couldn’t help but shake his computer in frustration since he knew it wasn’t her but Liz’s wife. John just laughed at his frustration and Henry got back into the private chat just so that he could flip him off which only made him laugh harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You go on a date with a guy who then tells you you're just friends. Well... alright then. These boys are very stupid, aren't they?


End file.
